Burl Bowl Anyone?

My father, ever the mountain man, is amazing to walk through the woods with. He can point out every tree, bush, or plant by name and if he doesn’t know it he examines it to get clues and takes pictures to find out later. Every time I go on hikes with him it just makes me want to spend more time being with him and learning from him. Living in a big city now it saddens me to realize how out of touch with the world we live in most of us are.

One of the things my father is always on the look out for is the unusual and burl or knots and fungi always seem to be a favorite. About a year ago he brought me a tight little oak knot that he found while out for a walk one day. I brought it back to my shop and over the past year when I am sitting around (delaying starting…or finishing another project) I have chiseled, carved, and sanded until last week I looked at it and decided that now tinkering with it was just a habit and it was time to put a finish on it.

I sent my father pictures of it a few days ago and he asked that since he found it we could share custody of the finished bowl…. I think I will just bring it to him next weekend. He has taught me much about woodworking, building, the mountains we are from, and well just life in general.